The weather outside may be frightful — but protecting your hearing health is delightful!
With snow, sleet, and cold come various health hazards, especially for your hearing health. Protecting your ears, hearing, and overall well-being is vital in the winter, especially if you live in a colder climate.
We’ve rounded up five of the most essential winter hearing health tips to help you stay feeling your best throughout the season:
- Wear hearing protection when using snow blowers
- Cover your ears against the cold
- Keep hearing aids and devices warm and dry
- Stay hydrated and moisturized
- Ask your audiologist for tips
Read on to learn more about these tips for winter hearing health!
Wear hearing protection when using snow blowers
Making sure you’re protecting your hearing health is especially important when using loud machinery to clear snow. Prolonged exposure to loud sounds can damage (or further damage) your hearing, so make sure you use ear protection when operating snow blowers and similar equipment.
Cover your ears against the cold
One of the most important winter hearing health tips is to make sure your ears are covered and protected from snow and cold. Windburn is no fun, and your ears can be very susceptible to the extreme cold temperatures that winter can bring. Wearing ear muffs, a thick headband over your ears, or a hat is a great way to prevent your ears from becoming too cold and painful, and will protect the skin on your ears from becoming chapped from the wind.
Covering your ears also helps to prevent moisture from getting in and around your ears; this is especially important if you wear hearing aids or other listening devices!
Keep hearing aids and devices warm and dry
While many modern hearing aids have some element of water resistance, it’s best practice to make sure they stay as warm and dry as possible to make sure they function at their best for a long time.
Ear warmers or a hat are a great way to prevent moisture build-up from snow or sleet, but it is also a good idea to wipe your devices down with a soft cloth once you’re back inside. You may also want to dry them off with a designated hearing aid dryer or let them air dry in a warm room to ensure no moisture remains.
Check out this blog post on caring for hearing aids in winter for more tips!
Stay hydrated and moisturized
Make sure you’re staying hydrated and moisturized in the winter. It may not be as easy to keep up your water intake in cold months as it is during the summer, but it nonetheless remains important to be mindful of your hydration levels. You may want to brew a nice warm cup of tea to get more water and warm up after being outside.
It’s also important to keep your skin moisturized and hydrated as well – and don’t forget to moisturize and apply sunscreen to your ears, too!
Ask your audiologist for tips
As always, if you have any questions about your hearing health, make sure to chat with your doctor or audiologist. They’ll have insights on other winter hearing health tips you can incorporate into your daily routine to make sure this winter is the healthiest one you’ve had yet!
For more winter health and wellness information, check out our blog posts on winter wellness tips for seniors and ways to combat the winter blues.
